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This article is about the Reign character Elizabeth I. You may be looking for the Historical figure Elizabeth I.

I am England's queen and those who seek to replace me will suffer my wrath.
Elizabeth in Three Queens, Two Tigers


Elizabeth I is a main character of the third and fourth season of Reign. She is portrayed by Rachel Skarsten.

Elizabeth is the Queen of England in her own right, as well as the second cousin of Mary Stuart - the source of much of their heated rivarly. Elizabeth is a member of the House of Tudor by birth.

Biography

Early Life

Elizabeth was born to Henry VIII of England and Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth's parents married after her father broke with Rome and divorced his first wife Catherine of Aragon. She was declared a bastard after her mother's execution at age 2. She has an older sister named Mary from her father's first marriage to Catherine of Aragon, and a brother named Edward from her father's third wife, Jane Seymour.

In the Series


Personality

A young woman hardened too soon by life's events, but vulnerable when it comes to love. A mercenary foe riddled with compassion for her rival.

Catherine recalls in Fated that she hears Elizabeth is very cunning and has many followers. And it's mentioned by Henry that she has always thought of Mary as a threat.

Name

Elizabeth is a feminine given name derived from the Greek Ελισάβετ (Elisabet, modern pronunciation Elisávet), which is a form of the Hebrew name Elisheva (אֱלִישֶׁבַע), meaning "My God is an oath" or "My God is abundance".

Physical Appearance

Elizabeth I is a tall woman with fiery red hair and piercing green eyes. Her hair is often elaborately styled.

Relationships

Louis of Condé: Condé was Elizabeth's husband. He and Elizabeth married in Abandoned via a proxy wedding in order to form a power couple to take France and rule England together, but someone opposing the alliance set the barn in which the wedding took place on fire and all documents of their marriage, including the proxy, were reduced to ashes.

Condé survived, but Elizabeth wasn't willing to go through the wedding again, so their relationship was left hanging in the air.

Robert Dudley: Elizabeth and Robert had shared years of rich history prior to Elizabeth becoming queen and being faced with the immense pressure to find a husband and bear an heir. When we first met the couple in Three Queens, Two Tigers, they pined for each other, lamenting the fact that they can never be together.

Elizabeth used her power and influence to further Robert's, but only when it suited her own agenda. When Robert was nominated for French Ambassador, Elizabeth humiliated him in front of the entire privy council by downplaying his skills in order to prevent him from leaving her for France. Robert wasn't pleased, but went along with it anyway.

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Elizabeth and Robert

Soon after inviting Robert to her bed again, Elizabeth found out she was pregnant. For an unmarried queen, that spelled disaster. Elizabeth told Robert and he was even ready to leave Amy for her, but Amy swiftly put two and two together and committed suicide in their residence after Robert had dismissed all the servants and told her about it.

By doing so, Amy ruined any chance of them being together - Robert was now suspected for murdering his wife and scheduled to go on trial, and Elizabeth wasn't having much success in the marriage market either. Robert's name was eventually cleared, but even then, he was subjected to harrassment by the townsfolk who believed him guilty of murdering his wife.

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Elizabeth on her way to see Robert

In an attempt to keep him safe, as well as to close the succession deal with Mary Stuart, Elizabeth sent him to court her. When Gideon Blackburn uncovered that the succession deal was actually a ploy fabricated by the Vatican against both queens and Robert took the credit for it, he was once again revered in the eyes of the privy council and Elizabeth, but she was so set against being together that by the time she was finally ready in Spiders in a Jar, he had remarried.

Gideon Blackburn: While Elizabeth was held in captivity in the Tower of London by her sister Mary Tudor, she fell in love with Gideon. Come to find out, he had been tasked by Mary to seduce Elizabeth and be her eyes and ears. Elizabeth was heartbroken, but later used his loyalty and skill to her service when she tasked him with seducing Mary Stuart in Fight or Flight.

Gideon continued to be loyal to his queen, but it was more than just fealty that kept him from straying from his path - it was mostly the fact that Elizabeth kept his daughter Agatha away from him as leverage. However, Elizabeth eventually reunited father and daughter and the two sailed back from France to England.

During Season Four, Gideon became Elizabeth's closest confidante, and the pair grew even closer when Elizabeth supported Gideon whilst he was grieving Agatha's death.

Anne Boleyn: Anne is Elizabeth's mother. Elizabeth lost her mother when she was two years old and barely remembers her, but respects her love for her father. She quietly loves her and celebrates her life, even though Anne is seen as evil at the English Court.

Henry VIII: Henry was Elizabeth's father. Publically, Elizabeth often appears as Henry's daughter and proudly presents herself as such. In private, however, she blames him for beheading her mother and disinheriting her. She does think of him as a great and effective king.

Mary Tudor: Elder half-sister.

Edward VI: Younger half-brother.

Mary Stuart: Mary is Elizabeth's first cousin, once removed and an enemy as Mary tried to claim Elizabeth's throne and wore the English crest.

Appearances


Trivia

  • Elizabeth is Protestant, and she was considered a bastard by the Catholics after her father had his marriage to her mother declared null and void, which therefore made her illegitimate.
  • Elizabeth had an older sister named Mary, whom she succeeded as Queen of England, and a younger brother named Edward who died when he was King at age 15.
  • Elizabeth was named after her grandmothers, Elizabeth Howard (Anne's mother) and Elizabeth of York (Henry VIII's mother), as well as her great-grandmother Elizabeth Woodville (Elizabeth of York's mother).
  • Mary and Elizabeth's ages are only a few years apart.
  • In No Way Out, she is revealed to be a good chess player. She is then shown to play chess on a number of occasions with people like Lola, Robert and Gideon.
  • For many years, Elizabeth I was deeply concerned about an imminent invasion from Spain and its charismatic ruler, Philip II (played by Jordan Lee in Reign). The eventual attack was known as the Spanish Armada which was thwarted by Sir Francis Drake, Elizabeth I's famous sea commander.
  • Historically, she is known as one of the greatest Queens in history.
  • Historically, she is known as the Virgin Queen, as she never married, thus ending the Tudor dynasty with her.
  • Elizabeth is the one who eventually ordered Mary's execution after a failed attempt on Elizabeth's life, known as the Babington Plot, to which Mary was complicit.
  • Historically, Elizabeth and her cousin Mary are both buried at Westminster Abbey
  • Elizabeth brought peace to England by tolerating religious differences, declaring that anybody shall practice any religion, as long as they won't try to plot against her or try to remove her from the throne.
  • Historically, Elizabeth's reign is known as the Elizabethan Era, England's Golden Age, and Elizabethan England.
    • Historically, Elizabeth ruled England for 45 years.
  • At the end of her reign she provided enough peace and religious tolerance for the reign of King James I (which, ironically enough, is Mary Stuart's son).
  • Elizabeth signed her name as "Elizabeth R". The R stood for Regina, which in Latin meant Queen, translating her name to "Elizabeth the Queen". Mary signed her name the same way.

Gallery

Elizabeth I has a photo gallery.
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